Investigation of the Concentration of Air Pollutants in Ambient Air ofBabol City

Background: The air quality and its impact on the environment, especially on human health, are considered as a significant issueof concern by major public and governmental organizations. Therefore, monitoring of air pollutants is necessary to design controlplans. This study aimed to evaluate the criteria for pollutants in the ambient air of Babol city.Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted on 136 samples obtained from 17 sampling stations during 2013,and the samples were collected using the respective devices on the site. The data were analyzed by ANOVA using Excel and SPSSsoftware. Then, the results were compared with the national environmental protection agency (EPA) standards.Results: Among the samples obtained from 8 sampling stations, the maximum mean concentration of particulate matter (PM) was0.0285 0.007 g/m3 in Shohada square, and the minimum was 0.024 0.009 g/m3 at the station at Mohammad Hassan Khanbridge; these are lower than the standard values. Also, the amount of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide in allstations was zero, so the air quality index (AQI) was less than 50 in all cases.Conclusions: The findings of this research show that the measured concentration of particles and other pollutants was less thanthe EPA and WHO standards; therefore, Babol has clean and healthy air.

Keywords:

Air Pollution , Air Quality Index (AQI) , Particulate Matter (PM)